Intel shelves wi-fi plans

SAN FRANCISCO: An ambitious plan to turn millions of desktop computers into hubs of wireless Internet access has been shelved after PC makers balked at the price of the feature, Intel said on Monday.

Intel, the world's largest chip maker, may still reintroduce its plan after trimming costs and adding new features, such as WiMAX -- a long-distance wireless networking technology designed to replace DSL and cable Internet access.

"The principle is sound. It's just for technology and timing reasons it just didn't make sense," said William Leszinske, Intel's director of digital home marketing and planning.

As originally designed, the feature would have added between $50 and $75 to the cost of a desktop computer, compared to the $30 to $50 price of a stand-alone product, called an access point, with similar features, Leszinske said.

The plan, called Intel Wireless Connect, would have provided Intel a new market to sell its Wi-Fi wireless networking chips, which are widely used in notebook computers. The feature was to be included in a chip set, or group of semiconductors designed to work together, sold along with Intel's Pentium 4 microprocessor.

First floated last November by Intel President Paul Otellini, the plan would have allowed PC owners to set up Wi-Fi networks in their homes or offices without the need for stand-alone access points, made by companies such as Cisco Systems Inc. and NetGear Inc.

Some analysts were skeptical of the idea from the start, saying that stand-alone access points were technically superior and inexpensive.

Leszinske, however, said Wireless Connect still had potential advantages, including the ease of use of setting up a wireless network on a single PC. The price of the feature could also fall, he added.

"In reality, we have teams working on it and we're evaluating when we would" reintroduce it, Leszinske said.

The introduction of a new version of Wi-Fi set expected in the next two years, called 802.11n, may prove to be an opportune time to reintroduce the feature, he said.

Also, Leszinske said it was a "very real possibility" that Intel may design desktop computer chips that can connect to the Internet via WiMAX and then share Wi-Fi signals through the home to allow wireless connections from notebook computers and handheld devices.

Intel has put its weight behind WiMAX, a radio technology that can blanket entire cities with high-speed Internet access, and plans to sell chips to be used by WiMAX service providers as well as for individual PCs.